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Overview of Home Hospital
 A
tree-lined sidewalk takes us from Home Chapel to
Home Hospital.
Cannons are in a
row in front of the
hospital. A majestic
fountain creates a tranquil scene with the
chaplain and surgeons' residences in the background.
Dr. Clark McDermont arrived on April 12,
1867, and he was the first Surgeon at the Central Branch. Construction
of the hospital was completed in 1870. Dr. F. H. Patton, Surgeon,
has been in charge of our Medical Department since December 17,
1884. His first assistant, Dr. A. S. Dunlap, and the second assistant
surgeon, Dr. A. H. Gable, reside in the hospital. During the
past year, we have employed a new oculist and aurist,
Dr. B. W. Greene. He has been very successful
in treating the eye and ear diseases, and a large number of our
partially blind men have been greatly relieved. On July 1, 1884,
the local manager of the Central Branch, Colonel Harris, was
authorized to obtain the
 service
of interns in the hospital, without cost. During the past 12
months, 196 veterans with diseases of the ear and 134 veterans
with diseases of the eye have been treated in Home Hospital.
We also cared for 112 patients with paralysis, 80 with epilepsy,
49 with heart disease, and 11 with cancer. Eighteen insane and
19 partially insane patients were cared for on our insane ward.
Fully 65 percent of the old soldiers applying for admission to
the Central Branch have some form of organic or functional heart
disease. This is certainly a larger percentage than is found
in private practice in men of the same age. The average age of
admission to Home Hospital for veterans with cardiac hypertrophy
is 53 years.
Interior of Home Hospital
This elegant and well-arranged building has been acknowledged
to be the best constructed in America. The
main building has 300 beds and an operating
room in the basement. We approach the hospital on the
driveway for a
closer view. We proceed to the porch and we are greeted by two
medical staff.
The physician on the right, First Lieutenant C.W. Newton, M.D.,
is receiving morning report. We have a better view of the
fountain from the porch. The main stairway is just inside, as are the administrative
offices. The six
wards are in the wings and each wing is supplied
with a staircase. Each ward has a
 bay
window for viewing the grounds and each floor has a dining room.
A large steam powered elevator carries the sick to the floors
above from the basement. The doors throughout the building are
of choice white walnut. The wards, halls, and dining rooms have
uniform wainscoting. Tall towers connect to each ward and contain
the bath and wash rooms. The building is steam heated through
coiled pipes in the basement. The wards and other rooms are supplied
with grates for open fires. Additional wards were completed in
1870, 1875, 1883 and 1885 bringing the current capacity to 450
patients. The hospital is nearly 100% occupied and additional
wards are planned to bring the capacity to 840.
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